Illinois Legislature Looks to Ban Minors’ Use of Tanning Beds W.C. Augustine March 9, 2012 Rebel Pundit Timidly Alicia entered the alleyway an hour before dusk. She was anxious only partly because it was darker than she had hoped. Fortunately her contact was behind the first dumpster, not too deep in the narrow alley with the sour, musty odor. “I have your fake ID showing your age at 18, do you have the fifty dollars?” he asked. “Yes,” hesitantly replied the 17-year old. “I can see paying fifty dollars for a 21 year old ID to buy alcohol, smoke or get into a bar, but why just to vote?” “Oh, I’m not interested in voting, but I need a pre-tan for this summer’s softball umpiring job and fun at the beach to prevent burning and my parent’s authorization will no longer work in Illinois”. Rather than tackling real and worsening problems, the Illinois legislature is considering house bill 1666, which would outlaw use of a tanning bed by anyone under 18 regardless of parental consent. Usurping individual and parental rights is an easier task for the legislature than: -dealing with a high school graduation rate that has fallen from 87.8% to 83.8 in the last year. -reversing or halting the declining trend of Illinois high school test scores to a record low this year. -reversing Illinois’ drop from 45th to 48th in rankings of best states for business. -correcting Illinois’ $83 billion public pension shortfall. -halting the exodus of businesses either too small or lacking the political connections, which would enable them to garner tax exemptions. -improving Illinois rank as 47th in Medicaid spending on the disabled. Sadly, not only is the legislature failing to reverse any of these trends, they are not having a serious discussion about possible solutions. The emphasis is on discreetly kicking the can down the road. Criminal or not, one must wonder whether it is the hypothetical Alicia or the Illinois legislature who has violated the public trust. Have a fulfilling and profitable day, WC (Bill) Augustine www.atlasrising.tateauthor.com Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.